Am I Growing in Love? I was sitting outside reading, and when I was done, I just sat there for a moment in the quiet. I heard a woodpecker and watched some ants. They were diligently working. They knew their purpose, and they got to it each and every day. I’ve asked myself and God this question before: What is my purpose? I grew up in church, and there was a lot of emphasis put on being called to pastor, be a missionary, or be an evangelist. So, as I sought the Lord, He showe

Feelings, Faith, and a Firm Foundation I heard a phrase on a podcast, and it stopped me... because it’s true. Here’s what was said: "Our fears can become our idols because we put all our focus on them." I would add emotions to that because it’s not just fear. All of our emotions can take hold of us and become something we focus on more than God. I was once someone who let what I felt carry me. I would dive deep into some feelings more than others and let them take hold. The o

Character Impact I was reading in the Book of Ruth the other day and got to chapter 2:10-12, which says, “Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. ‘What have I done to deserve such kindness?’ she asked. ‘I am only a foreigner.’ ‘Yes, I know,’ Boaz replied. ‘But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the

Trust God into the depths of life Trust and obey, for there’s no other way—do you remember that hymn? It’s so good. It tells us that there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. I’ve been thinking about obedience recently... again. It comes up often because I’m a parent, and it makes me think about my own obedience to the Lord. We find it easier to follow and obey someone when we trust them. I know for myself, I will even listen to someone better if I trus

“You’re grounded.” I was thinking about this phrase the other day and how it has such a negative connotation behind it. Sure, we as parents use it as a form of discipline with our kids, but I wanted to know where the phrase actually came from. According to what I found, the punishment of “grounding” comes from aviation. By the 1930s and 1940s, military and civilian authorities used the term “grounded” when an aircraft or pilot was forbidden from flying because of behavior, ru

Living Like We Have a Heavenly Father I’m reading Elisabeth Elliot’s book Joyful Surrender again, and she opens the book by talking about being at a cottage in Texas and taking in the wildlife as they live life around her. She talks about the freedom they have. She quotes something her dad always said, “Said the Robin to the Sparrow, ‘I should really like to know why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so.’ Said the Sparrow to the Robin, ‘Friend, I think that it m

God Sees Our Struggle I don’t know about you, but when I’m facing something, I can feel so isolated, even knowing that my husband is right there in the boat with me. We can often be surrounded by a community that has said, “Let me help you,” yet still sit in our struggle all alone. I’m very guilty of this. This reminds me of the scripture in Mark chapter 6. The disciples were in a boat, and there was a storm. They were struggling to paddle and get to shore. They were all in i

More than a Check List Are you a list maker? What about setting goals for the year? I am definitely a list maker, but I don’t usually set yearly goals. This year, though, I did make a list of things I wanted to work on. For work, I wrote: Stay focused and organized. Be intentional for God. Personally, I wrote: Grow closer to God. Get healthy. Spend time with family. Pay off debt. Connect with others. I have this list taped to my desktop in my office so I can see it every day.

Trusting God with our loved ones I have struggled with anxiety at different times in my life. In those moments, I found myself focusing on the "what ifs" and everything that could happen. Negative thoughts would swirl around in my mind, and I would become fearful of things that might never even happen. As you can imagine, I often talked myself out of doing certain things because of those fears. Then I had kids. Now those anxious thoughts didn't just revolve around me or my hu

Tuned to the Harmony We have all heard music in one form or another, and when we listen to it, we naturally follow the melody because it is the most prominent part that we hear. It feels natural to follow. But the moment you try to switch to the harmony, it becomes more difficult. You begin to question whether you've found it or if it even sounds right. It can feel unstable. Your pitch isn't necessarily bad (maybe), your ear is just tuned to the melody instead of the harmony.

God is THE Light I have read Genesis many times, and every time I’m amazed by the account of creation. One thing that has always stood out to me is that God created light before He created the sun, moon, and stars. Genesis 1:3-5 says, “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning

Trust in the Lord Trust—that’s a word that brings a variety of reactions. There are people we can think of immediately when we hear it. There’s that cringe feeling we get when trust has been broken. Then there are those relationships that fall somewhere in between. I think most of us fall in the middle. There are people we know we can trust, but at the same time, the thought of learning to trust someone new feels like a lot of work, and we kind of just go, “Ugh, I’m good.” Th

When We Know Better Last night at our family game night, we were playing Scrabble, and one of my sons played a word. We knew the word wasn't spelled correctly, but we also knew that the Scrabble dictionary sometimes allows alternate spellings, so we let it go. After he played and we moved on with the game we decided to check it, and our suspicions were confirmed. We then spent about ten minutes discussing the situation because my husband had already played off the incorrectly

Faithfulness Over Perfection I was at lunch with some friends, and one asked another, “If you could go back to who you were a year ago, what would you tell yourself?” They answered, “Not to rush and feel like I have to learn everything at once, but to take my time and take it all in.” I thought about that answer because it is so true. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and think we have to learn everything right away, and when we don’t, we get upset with ourselves… well, a

God, What Am I Missing? Have you ever had days or even weeks where no matter what you did, nothing seemed to go right? Your conversations, your kindness, your actions, your choices — nothing seemed to work out. I have become so frustrated with myself because it seemed like no matter what I did or said, I was misunderstood, not fully heard, or something else entirely. I knew I had to be the problem because everyone around me seemed to have no trouble communicating. Those are t

Simple Living, Deep Faith I grew up in the city limits. I went to college in Oklahoma City, and I always thought I would live downtown in a high-rise apartment. God had other plans. When I moved back home and my husband and I got married, we lived in an apartment in our town — not downtown. When we started looking at houses, we focused mainly on the city, though we were also open to something on the outskirts. But we ended up building our house 15 minutes from the nearest tow

Making Way for God Through the Trials We know what comfort feels like, but I think we truly know, feel, and remember every trial we have faced because those are the moments that shape us. Those trials reveal the areas in our lives where growth and change are needed. Life will always have trials and conflicts, but it’s how we handle them that reveals our growth and character. If you want to find out where your weaknesses are, just wait for a conflict or trial to arise. Isaiah

Fall On Your Knees It was about 2003, and I was going through a growing period in my walk with the Lord. I had rededicated my life back to God in 1999, this time with a full understanding of what that truly meant (I was 7 years old when I got saved). God saw where my heart was headed, what I was relying on, and what I was giving my attention to, and He took it away from me. I needed that jolt. It was through that stripping away of people and things that I found myself despera

Knowing God, Following His Instruction God’s righteousness refers to His perfect, holy nature and just actions. He is inherently good and faithful. God’s instruction — that is His Word and the guidance the Holy Spirit gives us. If God is righteous and good, then it makes sense that His instruction would guide us in the same direction. In being an ambassador of Christ, we need direction, so we know how to live that kind of life. When we look into the Word of God, we find that

Seek the Lord in Faith Through All Seasons and Reap the Harvest That is Coming I sought the Lord for Scripture for the week, and He gave me three. At first, I was trying to figure out how they even connected. So, I read each one along with the commentary in my study Bible… and they do, in fact, go together. They bring hope, they teach patience, and they show that seeking the Lord in all things through faith is what leads us to the reward — the Kingdom of Heaven. Those scriptu